In the United States, the average backyard is around 6,000 feet, and in some states, including Vermont, it extends to over 70,000 feet. It’s more than enough space to lay some decking, place some furniture, and even buy a little above-ground swimming pool. But those are the averages, so if millions of people are enjoying several thousand square feet, it means that millions more are struggling with much less.
Furniture manufacturers design chairs, tables, and accessories for gardens of all sizes. You shouldn’t feel left out just because you have much less space than your neighbor, friend, or the dream garden you saw in the back of a magazine. It just means that you need to be a little more creative.
In the following guide, we’ll look at the ways you can better utilize your limited space, ensuring your garden looks great regardless of the square footage.
Think Smart
The smaller your outdoor space is, the more creative you need to be. Fortunately, you have the backing of an innovative and ever-evolving manufacturing industry that is never short of good ideas.
Take Seven Summers as an example. We sell a variety of tables to suit patios and gardens of all sizes. We have large tables, half-tables, and even side tables. But we also sell attachments that negate the need for a table altogether.
The cup attachment, for instance, slots into many of the chairs that we sell, which means you have somewhere to place your drink without needing to buy a separate table. And that’s not all, as you can also buy attachments that connect one chair to another and creates a bridge between them, giving you somewhere to rest drinks, food, books, and your phone.
You’re not taking up any valuable patio space with additional tables, and yet it means two people can enjoy drinking, eating, and reading on the patio as if there was a table next to them.
Other ways to use your space creatively include:
- Half Tables: Rather than trying to squeeze a full-sized table onto your limited space, buy a half table (literally a semi-circle dining table) and press it up against a wall or your house.
- Small Chairs: Getting a smaller chair doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort. Focus more on the space that you’re not using, including the legs and whether it reclines or not. A simple stool or dining chair will take up much less room than a recliner.
- Foldable: Look for foldable furniture that you can store away when not in use. If there are too many chairs cluttering a small space, you will be constantly slaloming your way across your patio and tripping over chair legs.
Build Vertically
Here’s a fun fact for you: houses in Amsterdam are tall and narrow because property owners were once taxed based on width, and so when they wanted more space, they built up and not out. The end result is some of the most unique architecture in Europe, as well as a lesson that all small-space gardeners can learn from.
If you don’t have the horizontal space, then build vertically!
Rather than placing layers of planters and containers across your patio, build shelves into your wall or fence and stack them vertically.
Your house, fence, perimeter wall, and even garden trees can all help you to build vertical features and inject some color and style in your back garden.
It’s not just about aesthetics, either.
One of the best uses of space is to build a bench around a garden tree or up against a garden wall. You’re using space that would otherwise be ignored and you’re creating more seating room in the process.
If you have a large tree in your garden and it’s the reason you don’t have much space, use it to your advantage. Build a bench around the trunk, place a small table in front of it, and make room for a fire pit. The bench can also double as both a seat and a side table—perfect for snacks and evening drinks.
By utilizing the tree in this way, it stops being a nuisance and becomes the centerpiece in your new backyard.
Don’t Clutter
You don’t need a dozen chairs and a big dining table, and you definitely don’t need extra side tables, coffee tables, and storage boxes consuming more of your limited space.
We all have preconceived notions of what a patio should look like. The furniture sets that we see in magazines and on furniture sites—including here at Seven Summers—typically include a full set of 4 or 6 chairs, along with a dining table and side table. But that’s just a way of displaying all the pieces in a collection and giving consumers an idea of what a complete set could look like.
It doesn’t mean that you need to buy all of them. They’re not Pokémon—you don’t need to collect them all.
Use your space wisely and buy only what you need and what you have room for. If it’s just you and your partner, two chairs should suffice. Sure, you’ll have guests every now and then, but you can bring some chairs and stools from inside the house when that happens.
You shouldn’t clutter your backyard with chairs just on the off-chance that all of your friends will visit for a drink.
Quality Over Quantity
Good outdoor furniture will last for years and will be easy to maintain. Low-quality furniture will split, crack, stain, and fall apart from one season to the next. It’ll get in the way, need frequent repairs and replacements, and will generally be more trouble than it’s worth.
Rather than buying half a dozen cheap chairs and stacking them up, buy a couple of really good ones.
For instance, the furniture sold at Seven Summers is made from premium poly lumber, an easy-to-clean, eco-friendly material that is comfortable and highly durable. It won’t break or bend like cheap plastic; it won’t split like wood, and it won’t rust like iron.
Always choose quality over quantity when it comes to garden furniture and limited spaces. You want your patio to look like a fine dining restaurant on a Parisian backstreet and not like a preschool classroom.
Create a Transitional Garden
Storage boxes are a must when you have a small garden and/or patio. These boxes are designed to be left outdoors and can be used to store blankets, throw pillows, cushions, and more.
There are several reasons why these accessories are essential for limited-space gardens.
Firstly, it allows you to create a transitional garden, one that is constantly changing to adapt to the season and the weather. For instance, you can place lots of pillows and cushions down when it’s a chilly spring night and then remove them before it rains the following day.
It means that you’re not cluttering your furniture and your space with items that will just get in the way when they’re not in use. It also allows you to redecorate your garden multiple times throughout the month.
It’s the patio equivalent of a little black dress that can be worn in multiple ways compared to a closet full of dresses.
Secondly, the storage box can double as a table and/or chair. These boxes are usually quite large and solid, and once you throw a covering over the top, it’ll look just like a coffee table or bench.
Finally, if you have kids and pets, your garden will accumulate a lot of toys and as any parent can attest, those toys seem to grow like bad mold. No matter how many times you clean them and get rid of them, more and more will appear. With a storage box, you can encourage your kids to put their toys away and stop cluttering your garden.
Bar Carts
With bar carts, you can have your own bar even if you don’t have much space.
A bar cart is a wheeled serving cart that typically contains one or more trays on which you can place drinkware, bottles, buckets of ice, and whatever else you want to serve to your guests.
Just place all the items on the cart, wheel it outside, and then leave it there until everybody has enjoyed their drinks. If more beverages are needed, you can grab them from inside the house and place them on the tray.
At the end of the night, when your guests have departed and it’s time for bed, you can simply wheel the cart inside, dump the empty drinkware in the dishwasher, and then store the cart away for another day.
Bar carts are available in a variety of styles and cost between $100 and $150. You can opt for a classic aluminum cart for something sleek and modern or a wicker effect to give your yard the flavor of a tropical resort.
Cheaper plastic carts are also available, but as with everything else, you get what you pay for and these options are not as stylish or as reliable.